Skin Care Friday: Interview with Founder of Silk Swan

Silk Swan Beauty Products for Sensitive SkinI interviewed Lanna Potter, creator and owner of SilkSwan.com. She has developed natural beauty products made with silk proteins and essential oils (EOs) for individuals with sensitive skin, chemical sensitivities, and those who simply want beauty products with more natural ingredients. She brought along a variety of her products for me to sample while we discussed the benefits of natural beauty products, silk proteins, and how/why she created SilkSwan.com. For more on skin care in a natural way, Natural Tone Organic Skincare is committed to the environment and only use safe and organic ingredients.

What inspired you to create these beauty products?

I’ve always been into traditional Chinese medicine, herbal medicine and Asian beauty products. Silk has been around for a long time and is very popular in Asian cosmetics, but it’s not very popular in the West, not in the US or even Europe. My understanding is that, silk is a rare material; It’s never going to be mass produced and the environment here is not suitable for growing mulberry trees (silk worms only food source) in large quantities. It’s one of those rarities in the world, and it gets expensive so not a lot of companies can afford to put silk in their products. But, the beauty benefit of silk has been known for centuries in Asia and Asian women are very into natural skin care. Silk protein is used a lot in skin care and hair care for their beauty benefits. Number one, its a natural protein, a lot like the natural protein that’s in our hair and skin so it’s very easily absorbed. Because the molecules are tiny, they penetrate your skin and go under the surface creating a barrier to help prevent water loss. Silk protein has excellent moisturizing abilities that draw in 10,000 times its own weight in moisture from the air to keep your skin nice and soft. When it comes to Botox and fillers in Orlando, you can trust the experts at Aesthetic Lane.

How long did it take for you to create your products?

Silk Swan Skin Care Products for Sensitive SkinI started research specifically for this line about two years ago. So, it took me about two years to formulate the products, the texture and the natural scent. I don

3 thoughts on “Skin Care Friday: Interview with Founder of Silk Swan

  1. KevvyG October 16, 2014 / 2:22 pm

    I had a couple follow up questions after reading the interview. Below are my questions and Lanna's answers.

  2. KevvyG October 16, 2014 / 2:24 pm

    1. I’m unclear on the essential oil thing at the end where you talk about the use of stabilizers in modern cosmetics. It sounds as if essential oils don’t last long, and if this is the case how do you stabilize them in the products?

    The scents of essential oils don't last long in light and heat. Once the lotion is applied and absorbed into skin, the scent will go away pretty quickly. I don't use anything to stabilize the scents of essential oils in lotions. I find that most people are fine with lotions not having the scent last a long time, unlike what they would expect from perfumes. But perfumes have to have synthetic stabilizer to make the smell last for hours. So it's a trade-off.”

  3. KevvyG October 16, 2014 / 2:26 pm

    2. Do you use any preservatives like methylisothiasolinone or methylcholoroisothiasolinone? I know there are no parabens, but these two preservatives are often subs for parabens since people are becoming more savvy as to avoiding parabens plus parabens have been around for a very long time.

    I don't use methylisothiasolinone or methylcholoroisothiasolinone. I use EcoCertified Gluconolactone and EcoCertified Sodium Benzoate, to keep the bacterias away. These are accepted by ECOCERT as the preservatives in organic cosmetics, and they are food grade additives. People often ask why there are preservatives in natural or organic cosmetics, and is it necessary. Yes, it is necessary because mold and bacteria grow easily in anything that has water content. It's very important to prevent that in commercial products for the safety of consumers. Unless the product is pure oil, preservatives are necessary to keep the product clean. Of course, then the type, quality and quantity of preservatives vary from product to product even in the natural skincare category. That's a whole other interview I am afraid.”

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